


Sleight Of Hand

by florapaw



Series: Bus Route (in addition) [3]
Category: Watership Down - Richard Adams
Genre: Multi, feat my girl haystack, love her!!, shes a sweet lil bohemian goth gf!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 07:29:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14397228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/florapaw/pseuds/florapaw
Summary: The brief yet totally romantic way Clover and Holly met Bluebell.





	Sleight Of Hand

**Author's Note:**

> hey yall its me, finally publishing this trash.  
> sorry in advance. i had to rewrite the middle part and now it sounds really weird arrrghhh h  
> hope you enjoy it i guess lol

Clover couldn’t help the tears that rolled down her pink cheeks. She was _sure_ that she looked insane but seeing Haystack with her travel bag and plane ticket was just too much for her. She rubbed her eyes and sniffed, welcoming Holly’s arm that pulled her closer to his side, stroking her hair comfortingly.

In front of them both stood Haystack. “Oh, Clove, don’t cry. You’ll make me cry again,” Her voice was watery and her cheeks were streaked with black mascara. Clover _wished_ she didn’t cry. It was too painful to watch her girlfriend leave on that plane to fly a million miles away to Germany.

The painful squeeze of her heart only worsened when she began to remember that Haystack leaving meant. No more girl’s weekends while Holly was working, where Clover would shop in the bright colourful stores and Haystack dragged her to tiny places with black cats on the storefront and a name that Clover couldn’t possibly pronounce. No more playing with her multitude of ear piercings on nights where her mind was fuzzy from wine. No more stains of black lipstick on the sheets or her skin.

A voice over in the airport echoed through the busy halls. It was announcing the flight’s departure. Haystack took a big breath and let it out slowly. “I have to go.”

The girl stepped forward and pressed a kiss to Clover’s cheek, then to Holly’s before picking up her suitcase and giving them a tight smile. “I’ll see you.”

Clover watched her disappear into the crowd until she could no longer see the pale girl with dark hair in the sea of people. Holly grasped Clover’s hands and led her towards the exit. Neither of them spoke on the ride home.

Eating that night was near silent, save for the sound of cutlery clanging and scraping. The empty seat where Haystack once sat looked lonely and sad all by itself in the corner. Holly watched Clover rest her chin in her hand and push the food around her plate, not bothering to pick it up and eat it. She seemed to be taking Haystack’s move the hardest.

“She said she’d called,” Holly said, trailing off as Clover lifted her gaze to meet his.

“It feels so empty without her here.”

It did. The three had been dating since their senior year of high school, and they had all grown very much attached to each other in the years following. As he recalled the memories, he too felt the emptiness. For the first time since senior year, they were practically alone.

 

 

However alone they felt, it didn’t stop Bluebell from entering their lives.

Clover’s hand was tight in Holly’s, and she twirled herself with his arm. The cold, wintery evening had always made Clover happy. “Datenight is my favourite time of the week,” She told her boyfriend decisively, letting go of his hand and turning on her heel.

“It’s mine too,” Holly smiled, leaning down to press his lips against hers.

Though, it was promptly cut short, with a loud, ecstatic yelp coming from the side. Both Holly and Clover jumped. The man was about Holly’s height, with a mess of dark brown hair peaking out from under his blue and white beanie.

Clover patted down her hair and calmed her racing heart, offering the newcomer an uncertain smile. “Oh, hello.”

The man winked, shooting her a childish finger-gun movement. “Hey, do you two want to see a magic trick?”

Holly shoved his hands into his pockets, grumbling out a reply. “Depends on how good a magician you are.”

Clover’s elbow made contact with his side, and she widened her grin. “Sure, strange magic man. Hit us with your best trick.”

The man opened his hands, showing the two that his palms were free, before closing his hands into one loose fist. He glanced up to the two, blew into a crevice in his fist, and opened his hands to reveal a small white dove nestled in this hands. Clover’s eyes were wide and amazed, and even Holly looked impressed.

With a soft coo, the dove flew into the snowy air and darted off.

“Cool trick and all, but why would you summon a dove in this cold?” Clover asked, head tipped to the side.

The man shrugged, beaming, and held out a hand. “I’m Bluebell, your friendly neighbourhood street magician.”

Clover took his hand instantly, shaking it. “I’m Clover, and this is my boyfriend Holly.”

Bluebell nodded his head in response. Then, his eyes grew serious. “You two look unhappy. What’s up?”

Surprisingly, it was Holly that answered. “Our girlfriend moved away a couple of weeks ago.”

“It’s lonely in our house at the moment,” Clover added, her hands clenching together. She blinked rapidly, not sure if it was to mask tears springing to her eyes, or because of the snowflakes in her lashes.

Bluebell laughed gently. “I get that we’ve only just met, but if you ever get lonely, come find me. People say I’m great fun.”

He pulled a deck of cards from his pocket and flipped through the deck before producing a card and holding it out to the couple. “You two seem pretty cool. I’d like to get to know you better.”

Holly took the outstretched card and then gave a single nod to Bluebell, walking away and pulling Clover along with him. He flipped the card over, revealing a number scrawled on the blank white surface.

For the first time since Haystack’s move, they had found a friend.


End file.
